2 months in!

Tomorrow I finish my second month of classes! I will be finished with Ekphrasic Poetry and begin Renaissance Narrative on Monday morning.

I've had some amazing moments in class and out...learning about the process of poetry and the weight of words. Throughout the class I've written poems about famous paintings as well as encounters I've had with the art and life in Orvieto. The "Orvieto" ones were a really great and unique way for me to process the things I've been learning and the things that have impacted me most throughout my time here.

We're halfway through life in Orvieto which is absolutely crazy! I've definitely been hitting more moments of homesickness and feeling overwhelmed with how much is left to go. But the next two months are the busiest, so I'm pretty positive the time will fly by and June 16th will be here before I know it.

As a program we've had some beautiful moments this week. For the past month we've been split into two classes: Painting and poetry. Monday morning we came together to share some of what we've learned since arriving in Orvieto and more specifically in the last month of classes. It's amazing how much we can all relate to each other, on both personal and academic levels. On Tuesday night we had a poetry reading and art exhibition. I've never read my poetry out loud (well probably because I've never written poetry before!), so that was a strange and rewarding experience, but it was great to read in the context of everyone I've been learning with. After the reading all the art students displayed the Stations of the Cross paintings they've been working on. It was such a beautiful and rewarding evening. These are the moments when I feel most excited about the work I'm doing here and most secure about my place her in Italy for this semester. I'm already excited to begin another round of classes!

So, my next step is...PARIS! One of the perks of living in Europe is the fact that I can take a weekend trip to France :) Okay, so its not that easy, we've had lots of stressful planning to make sure buses, trains and planes all connect and that we have a place to stay. I hope to see all the typical Paris attractions, but its a short trip so I'm just going to do what I can. I and four of my classmates leave tomorrow night and will fly back to Orvieto early Sunday morning. Any prayers you can send our way for traveling mercies are MUCH appreciated!

For now, I will leave you with the two poems I read on Tuesday night.

The first is based on the still life below, entitled Arezzo. Each of us wrote a somewhat humorous response and read them as a collection.

Arrezzo Still Life

Perhaps it was late afternoon,

Or I suppose they could have positioned

The fluorescent light just-so. It was, after all,

1979—no lack of electricity

like the Dutch fruit masterpieces.

Was it always the plan to place

Orange pots on a wooden table,

In front of an orange wall?

The colors, though all in the same palate, are nice,

so someone did their homework.

We might call it ‘kitchen necessities’, I can hear them say.

But what of the egg? And salt but no pepper?

OH! I get it—those could be representations of all

Food and spice. See, the artist did make

Compositional decisions. It’s not that I don’t like it,

Because I do, its aesthetically pleasing. But what

Can it teach me? Please, tell me the thought

Behind these choices. I want to convey the access

We all have to simple, beautiful life. Escape the wars

And post-modern confusion and get lost in the

Peaceful orange. Oh, I say, thank you.

This next one is based off an assignment I had, "7 ways to view a wall" and since then has morphed into a more personal response to Orvieto as a city.

Ways to view a wall

Upon this vast wall stands

the weight of a city.

A place to visit that in a few months, becomes home.

Layers of brick support ancient stone.

Scales of gray and brown leave a record of the

millennium that has passed here.

Standing in the olive groves of the valley,

the town could be held in a human hand,

the Duomo balanced on fingertips.

But walk back up the hilly paths

and its two miles of cobblestone and the

sweeping mosaic will leave you breathless.

This fortress was home to a temple,

And a cellar to ferment wine,

And a site for Etruscan battles

And Roman invasions.

We’ve seen it on a thousand postcards,

but inside these walls we find

cafes on every corner, old stone

churches in every quarter, shops to

accommodate locals and tourists alike,

And food.

Restaurants serve at one and at eight.

Each baker an artist, their medium a croissant,

Each chef a master of pizza and pasta.

Fresh tomatoes and olives on every

plate, oil drenches each bite. All served best

with a glass of wine.

Under the shadow of this wall, the Earth comes alive.

Plants grow from Tufa

Birds chirp, salamanders slither

Wind blows through the grasses.

The wall grants permission to travelers

Who leave only to reflect, renew, respond.

Then pass back through to be challenged

By community formed in the classroom

of an old Palazzo.

Welcome to Orvieto.